Hoboken choir to celebrate decade of performing with 'Passport to Spring' concert

Courtesy of the Cantigas Women's ChoirThe Cantigas Women's Choir will celebrate ten years of performing in Hoboken this upcoming weekend.

Hoboken’s all-women community chorus, the Cantigas Women’s Choir, this weekend will present "Passport to Spring," a concert celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Saturday’s concert will feature a selection of five Hebrew love songs, two Arabic songs, two Greek songs, and a 15th Century Spanish song.

Cantigas Women’s Choir is named after a medieval Spanish song form called a “cantiga,” and is composed of 40 women who explore the rich tradition of women’s singing.

"The image of a women's choir is usually rows of sweet ladies in straight lines singing, perhaps patriotic or parlor songs, but this is hardly Cantigas Women's Choir," said director Joan Litman.

The group performs a wide spectrum of global music at a variety of locations including with the inmates of the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, N.J., as well as other community events in Bayonne and Hoboken.

"We are 40 voices strong and span decades of generations. We sing everything from classic to contemporary choral music, from Greek folkloric songs and Sephardic Lullabies to African-American field yells,” she added.

The concert will be held at St. Matthew Trinity Church this Saturday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. The church is located at the intersection of Hudson and Eighth streets in Hoboken.

There is a suggested donation of $15 for the concert, $5 for seniors and students.

Next month, the Hoboken group will host the Coral Femenino de Caballito from Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a concert at the United Nations International School in New York City on June 16.

The Argentinian group’s director, Leonardo San Juan, had previously traveled to Hoboken in 2010 to guest conduct the Cantigas in the North American premiere of his original work, Magnificat.